As the cultural wave known as the Baby Boomers reached school age starting in the early '50s, cities and towns around the country scrambled to build more schools.

Then, as that generation began graduating, school districts found themselves with too many buildings and too few students, forcing them to close schools.

The Pacifica School District, then known as Laguna Salada Union Elementary School District, was no different. It dropped from about 10,000 students in the '60s to about 3,100 today, said Superintendent Jim Lianides.

Among the schools to be shuttered was Westview Elementary off Skyline Boulevard, which closed about six years ago. Once the school board had determined it was no longer needed, the approximately 12-acre site was offered to housing developers.

The winning bid - about $14.5 million, the superintendent said - came from the Olson Co., based in Seal Beach (Orange County) with regional offices in San Ramon. Escrow closed in September 2005.

How the Property Brothers Turned $250 Into $50,000 on Their First FlipTMTime

Richmond community, Veranda, offers small-town feel.chron

Of Course the Kitchen Inside Rachael Ray's $4.9 Million Hamptons Home Is PerfectTMTime

The Scariest Motel Is Up for SaleFortuneTime

Richmond community offers affordable housingKTVU2

How to Buy a House: Picking Proper ProsMoneyTalksNews

Olson is transforming the site into Cypress Walk, a residential neighborhood with 85 detached single-family houses and 10 duets (single-family attached houses). It also has granted an easement for a small park on the site.

The detached houses range from about 1,700 to about 2,800 square feet, with prices from the high $700,000s to about $1.1 million. All have two-car garages and stand two or three stories tall. They also have a storage room or large storage area, welcome features that might help free up the garages for cars rather than stuff.

Monthly homeowner dues of $157 include maintenance of the front landscaping and common areas, including internal streets.

Plans Three, Four, Five and Six in the Carmel section share driveways around small courtyards. Plans One, Two and Seven in the Monterey section have their own driveways.

Plan Three in the Carmel section can have two or three levels. With three levels, as shown in the model, it has about 2,288 square feet. Depending on configuration, Plan Three can have three or four bedrooms and 21/2 or 31/2 bathrooms. The model home shows four bedrooms and 31/2 bathrooms.

Entry is off a small porch with the front door opening to a wide, light foyer with windows on one side and a stairway on the other. Three steps up, there is a landing and a half-bath.

Farther along in the entry are the guest closet and a niche large enough for a storage cabinet. Then one enters the open-feeling great room with its gas fireplace. Adjoining the great room are the kitchen and dining nook, separated by an island with the sink and dishwasher on the kitchen side and a breakfast bar on the nook side. Sliding doors open to the shallow backyard.

The kitchen is outfitted with granite counters, maple cabinetry, Whirlpool appliances (refrigerator not included), a pantry and a door into the garage - convenient for carrying in groceries and other items.

Three of the bedrooms, including the master suite, are on the second floor. They're accessed from a wide hall with a linen cabinet. Also on this level is the laundry room, which has windows, an optional sink and an adjoining storage room.

There's a bedroom at the front of this floor and another across from the laundry area. As an option, the latter bedroom can be configured as a tech area. Each of these bedrooms has a door into a shared bathroom. Sharing is enhanced by the double vanity and a separate compartment for the toilet and tub/shower.

The master suite occupies the back of this floor. The bedroom has windows on two sides, as does the master bath. Also in the master bath are separate vanities, a shower stall, an oval tub, a toilet closet and - inconveniently - the door to the walk-in closet.

The third level can be configured as one large loft or - as in the model - a smaller loft with another bedroom and bathroom.

Cypress Walk sits between an older apartment building, which dominates the view from the Plan Three model's master bedroom, and an area of older single-family houses, some in better shape than others.

The Olson Co. chose the site because "it fit with our philosophy of infill building," said Tony Bosowski, regional president. San Mateo County has a big demand for and a small supply of single-family houses, especially near San Francisco, which is less than 10 miles away, he said.

The closest commercial areas are on nearby Hickey and Westborough boulevards. Downtown Pacifica and the ocean are a few minutes away on the other side of the ridge.

Latest from the SFGATE homepage:

Click below for the top news from around the Bay Area and beyond. Sign up for our newsletters to be the first to learn about breaking news and more. Go to 'Sign In' and 'Manage Profile' at the top of the page.